A Treasure Concealed (22 page)

He finally captured the hat and made his way back to Emily,
dusting the bonnet as he walked. When he returned he gave her a sweeping bow and presented the piece as if it were an extravagant gift.

“M'lady.”

Emily laughed and took the hat. It hadn't suffered much damage, but she didn't want to put it back atop her head only to have it whipped off again. “I believe I'll wait to affix this until we're out of the wind.”

“That is probably wise,” Caeden agreed.

Anna had arranged for both of their bags to be at the stage waiting, and the driver was just hefting them to store in the boot.

“Good to have you join us,” the driver said, tipping his hat to Emily. “Always a pleasure to have a lady aboard. You're our only one today.”

Emily smiled but said nothing. She didn't like being the center of attention, and even now she could see that the numerous gentlemen atop and inside the stage were already watching her closely.

“Pity you don't have those old layers of clothes you used to wear,” Caeden said as he helped Emily up into the stage. She suppressed a giggle as she caught sight of the four men in the carriage. They seemed most intent on making her acquaintance.

“You can sit here, miss,” one of the men announced. Unfortunately, he was sitting on the side where there were already three, and despite their efforts, they couldn't make space for another, even one as slim as Emily.

The man sitting by himself smiled invitingly and patted the seat. “Plenty of room here.” His enthusiasm was quite evident.

Emily took her place but crowded the wall of the stage. Caeden climbed in behind her and positioned himself between the man and Emily, much to the other fellow's disappointment.

Caeden's usual stern expression seemed to act as a deterrent to further conversation, and so the others returned their
attention to conversing among themselves. Emily felt her hair and found the hatpins that had failed to hold her hat in place. She positioned the bonnet and resecured it, hoping there wouldn't be another mishap. It was the only ladies' hat she'd ever owned, and she certainly didn't want to lose it.

The trip by stage was surprisingly exciting for Emily. She'd never ridden in a stagecoach before and found the entire matter to be a great adventure. Her enthusiasm became rather contagious, and the men surrounding her strove to answer her questions and share whatever knowledge they had of such travels.

It wasn't until they were nearly an hour into the trip that Emily caught sight of Caeden's scowl and decided perhaps her silence would be better. After all, for someone who hadn't wanted to attract attention, she'd done exactly that with her girlish delight over the trip.

Despite her excitement, Emily leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. She thought about her return to Utica and her plans for seeing the marshal first thing. It was her intention to learn what had been done about the capture of Kirk Davies. She hoped that by now the marshal had paid him a visit and discovered evidence of the bite Emily had given him.

Of course, it was possible that Davies had fled the area, thinking he'd killed her father. After all, when they left Utica there wasn't much hope that he would live. If Davies had gone, Emily wasn't at all sure what she would do. She wanted justice for her father and mother. She wanted Davies to pay.

Somewhere in her thoughts Emily drifted off to sleep. When the stage stopped for a meal break, she awoke to find she had slumped against Caeden and her head was on his shoulder. She sat up with a start and immediately apologized.

“I'm so sorry.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but it caught the attention of her traveling companions.

“He don't look too put out,” one of the men commented.

Another grinned and pushed back his felt hat. “I know I wouldn't be.”

Still another declared in a most confident voice, “If he is, you can sleep on my shoulder when we get back on the road.”

Caeden muttered something under his voice, but Emily couldn't make it out and didn't want to draw further attention by asking. The door opened, and the driver reached up his hand. Emily, being the only female on the stage, decided his action was for her benefit and quickly took hold and let the man help her down.

“Thank you,” she said, uncertain what to do.

“The privy is in the back, and the food is in the house. We won't be here but twenty minutes, fellas and miss.” He nodded in acknowledgment of Emily. “Don't be wastin' any time. We got a schedule to keep.”

Caeden took hold of her arm. “I'll escort you out back, and then we can make our way inside.” He lowered his voice and moved her away from the others. “I'm afraid if I don't keep an eye on you, one of those . . . gentlemen will. And worse, they'll get ideas of how to further irritate me.”

Emily suppressed a smile. Caeden seemed quite possessive of her, and he hadn't seemed to mind that she'd slept on his shoulder. Perhaps he had more feelings for her than that of a protective brother. Maybe he had fallen in love with her just as she had with him.

Caeden didn't like men ogling Emily. He hadn't been joking when he'd mentioned a desire for her to have her old clothes back. At least then she had been hidden away, to some degree.
All he could do was assert his possessiveness of her and show the other men Emily was off-limits.

Once they were back on their way, Caeden began to relax a little. His actions at the stage stop had made it clear he would brook no nonsense where Emily was concerned. At the table he had given one poor man his fiercest scowl just for handing Emily the salt without her requesting it. The others hadn't missed this, and from that point on they only cast quick side glances at Emily when they thought Caeden wasn't watching.

Even so, Caeden felt a tremendous sense of relief when they finally pulled into Utica. It was late in the day, there were thick clouds overhead, and the light was all but gone. Not only that, but there was a taste of snow in the air. It certainly wouldn't do to try to make Yogo tonight.

“We should probably get rooms at the hotel for the night and then worry about getting you back to the claim tomorrow.” Caeden shifted rather impatiently as he awaited their bags. Glancing around, he found himself more than a little aware that Emily was a beautiful woman in a rowdy cow town where the men far outnumbered the women.

What's wrong with me? I'm acting like . . .
He didn't want to acknowledge the thought. The truth disturbed him more than he wanted to admit.
I'm acting like a jealous, possessive husband.

“I need to speak with the marshal.” Emily looked around. “It's not all that late. Do you suppose I'll find him at the jail?”

“I suppose so.” Caeden took their bags from the stage driver. “I'll walk you over.”

She didn't say a word, and he wondered if he'd done something wrong. Had he offended her by taking charge?

They passed by the well-lit hotel restaurant where Caeden had first had dinner with Emily's father. Through the big window
at the front, he could see that the place was packed. Maybe by the time they finished with the marshal and got their rooms, the place wouldn't be quite so busy.

They hadn't gone ten feet, however, when Bishop Arnold's voice called out in a commanding manner, “Caeden Thibault.”

He turned, as did Emily. Caeden had little desire to deal with the man but knew it would do no good to tell him so. Then to his complete displeasure, Catherine stepped from the restaurant to join her father.

“I find your behavior in leaving without a word to be completely unacceptable,” Arnold started in. “You accompanied me here to give me your opinion on my mining interests.” It was then that Arnold seemed to take an interest in Emily. He looked her up and down, then turned back to pull his daughter forward.

“And to have you desert your fiancée without a word was most uncalled for.”

Caeden looked at Catherine momentarily, then turned to Emily, whose expression had gone blank. He knew that look. It was how she handled anything distasteful or surprising. He wanted to counter Arnold's claim and deny his untimely announcement, but Caeden could see the worry in Catherine's eyes and so said nothing.

“We were quite worried, weren't we, Catherine?”

She nodded. “Very much so. But, as you can see, Father, our worry was unwarranted.” She smiled at Caeden. “We're glad to have you back.”

Caeden tightened his grip on the bags. “I can see that.” He looked to her father. “And have you completed your transaction with Mr. Singleton?”

“I have.” He seemed to puff out his chest. “No thanks to you. Even so, I'm certain that when you inspect the place for yourself, you'll find everything in order.” He lowered his voice
to a whisper. “The ore we've pulled out was assayed just today and found to be of the highest quality.”

“No doubt.” Caeden knew the ore taken from the mine was most likely placed there for just such purposes. Either that or Singleton had an arrangement with the assayer. If there truly was an assayer in Utica. More than likely Singleton had hired someone to play the part.

“Of course it's too dark to go out to the claim tonight,” Arnold began, “but in the morning I would like you to inspect it for yourself. I'm quite encouraged.”

Caeden shook his head. “And where is Mr. Singleton?”

“He had to return to Great Falls. He has another investor that he plans to bring out here. The man has really been most helpful. He's offered to help me secure a crew to work the mine. He says he has a trusted man who could act as foreman for me.”

“And how did you manage to pay for the claim?” Caeden knew it was rude to ask about such matters, but he pushed for an answer. “After all, it isn't like the bank here would have that kind of money on hand.”

“I arranged it in Great Falls. I wired my bank in Albany for a short-term loan, and they wired approval to the bank in Great Falls.” Bishop Arnold smiled. “Singleton believes I can make back my investment in a month's time. He plans to return at that time and see just how things are going.”

Caeden didn't want to make matters worse by telling Arnold that Singleton was probably long gone. He was tired, and he knew Emily was exhausted. No, it would be better to have this conversation in the morning.

“If you'll excuse me,” he began and turned to look at Emily. She wasn't there. He frowned and looked back at Arnold.

“The young lady who was with you left a few moments ago.
I presume you were simply assisting her with her bag,” Arnold said, narrowing his eyes.

Caeden could only imagine what Emily was thinking. Arnold had announced that Catherine was to be his wife. He'd never had a chance to tell Emily anything about their arrangement. Not that he had thought it would ever be necessary. Now, however, she believed he was going to marry Catherine, and any chance he had of proposing she wait for him might face serious obstacles.

“If you'll excuse me, I need to catch up with her. As you said, I have her bag.”

“I was hoping you might have dinner with us,” Arnold announced. “Our food hasn't arrived yet. Why don't you join us. We have a great deal to discuss, and I know Catherine has been absolutely pining for you.”

Caeden hated himself for not putting Arnold in his place and declaring the farce that he and Catherine had contrived, but he knew it would spell disaster. Catherine would suffer, and Caeden would bear the responsibility and guilt should she be forced into a loveless marriage because of him. Surely he could just explain it all to Emily. She was the understanding sort. Wasn't she?

Emily stormed into the jail feeling ten different kinds of fool. Why should it be such a surprise that Caeden had a fiancée? Why shouldn't he? He was wealthy and handsome and no doubt quite popular in his circles. How foolish she'd been to suppose he felt something for her.

He probably sees me—us
—
as a charity case. He can do his good deeds and feel better
about himself.